MILLBRAE — Home burglaries that have targeted Asian homes for over a year prompted a large group of residents Tuesday night to demand more help from the Millbrae Police Department.

They took their concerns to the City Council, saying that if the Police Department had shared information that there had been more than 70 burglaries this year, there would be less victims.

Resident Stan Wong helped create a flier that was distributed throughout the city, and encouraged the city’s Asian community to speak out against the burglaries.

His home was hit recently, and he said officers failed to tell him that three homes less than 300 yards away were also robbed. Wong believes that there could be 90 break-ins by the end of the year.

According to the flier, 80 percent of the residential burglaries in the city have targeted Asians.

“We pretty much were kept in the dark,” he said. “We not only lost our valuables, we lost our sense of security. We need a larger, stronger and better-funded police force.”

The flier blames the lack of funding and limited police resources for a city exposed to crime and declares that the department and city officials have been “slow to react or solve these crimes.”

Millbrae Police Chief Tom Hitchcock said not all the burglaries have the same mode of operation.

“We do believe these (burglaries) are all related and not by the same person doing these things, but by a group of folks,” he told the large crowd Tuesday night.

He added that similarities include: someone watching from “some vantage point,” and waiting for people to leave their home, and robbers hitting homes with no security systems. He said break-ins are also occurring in San Bruno and South San Francisco.

Hitchcock said the Police Department has some leads and plans to start a task force with the two other cities.

But to prevent more crime, Hitchcock advocated for more communityoriented policing, and he wants residents alert and involved in neighborhood watch.

In the past, police officials have noted that some Asian families tend to keep large amounts of money at home, particularly around the holidays.

Resident Terry Wong, who also helped make the flier, said he wanted people to understand what was going on. Because of the burglaries, he’s had to install an alarm system and often goes home three to four days a week during his lunch hour to “catch someone in the act” of burglarizing his house.

“This hits home,” Wong said. “The biggest thing to do is to watch out for each other. We need to stop it now.”

Residents are asked by the Millbrae Police Department to call (650) 259-2300 and (650) 697-1212 to report any suspicious activities.

Staff writer Christine Morente covers Burlingame, Millbrae, San Bruno and Hillsborough. She can be reached at (650) 348-4333 or at cmorente@sanmateocountytimes.com.